PRESS RELEASE
The 1000 words challenge goes live!
New free vocabulary learning platform launched at BETT, 22 January 2014
Pupils and their parents are being offered a new fun way to get into language learning in 2014.
Vocab Express, the online learning application, has teamed up with dictionary publisher Oxford
University Press to provide a free online platform to learn, revise and test progress in a range of
languages. The offer forms part of the language campaign Speak to the Future which in September
2013 launched the 1000 words challenge, calling for everyone to have 1000 words in another
language.
The content for the site has been developed by lexicographers and language textbook authors at
Oxford University Press and provides 1000 of the most common vocabulary items suitable for
teenage and adult learners. Learners who achieve 1000 words – a first basic level of competence in a
foreign language - will be issued with certificates and there will be prizes for schools who use the site
to boost pupils’ motivation and achievement.
The new site is launched on 22 January at the Bett Show in London and is aimed at secondary school
pupils and at adults learning a foreign language or refreshing their existing language skills. It provides
extra practice and motivation for pupils in Key Stages 3 and 4, and offers a way for parents to get
involved with their children’s language learning. It is available initially in French, Spanish and
German, with other languages to follow.
Justin Sycamore, managing director of Vocab Express, who developed the idea, comments “We are
incredibly pleased to be involved in such a great language learning initiative. We immediately saw
the benefit of the 1000 Words Challenge; the aspiration for everyone to learn 1000 words in another
language, regardless of their linguistic skills is realistic, achievable and measureable. With the launch
of this free site we want to encourage everyone to take up the challenge!”
Bernardette Holmes, Campaign Director for Speak to the Future says, “The launch of the 1000 words
challenge last September has sparked a genuine demand for this type of language learning support
and the ability to measure progress in small steps is clearly something learners find motivating. I am
delighted that we have been able to work with experts at Oxford University Press to identify high
frequency structures which will help learners consolidate and extend their language skills. We hope
that schools and homes across the country will take up this challenge so that language learning in
the UK increases greatly.”
Vineeta Gupta, Head of Children’s Dictionaries at Oxford University Press, adds: “Oxford Dictionaries
are trusted around the world as the definitive source on language and the first point of reference. It
is our hope that by offering our support to this worthy campaign for languages, that we can help
children to become the best communicators in life and develop a lasting love for words and
language.”
ENDS
To register for the new 1000 words Vocab Challenge, go to
https://www.vocabexpress.com/speaktothefuture/
To find out more about taking the 1000 Words Challenge, go to
http://www.speaktothefuture.org/1000-words-challenge/take/
Enquiries
Teresa Tinsley, 1000 words campaign lead for Speak to the Future
Tel. 0781 8028021
Teresa.tinsley@gmail.com
Notes for editors
1. Speak to the Future is an initiative funded by the British Academy which aims to highlight
the importance of languages, language learning and professional language activities for the
UK. Targeting the public, media, government and policymakers, it intends to unify the nation
around a strong public message that every language counts and that English alone is not
enough. In addition to launching the 1000 words challenge, the campaign is working to
develop national accreditation mechanisms for community languages and targeting
Members of Parliament to raise awareness about the strategic value of languages.
www.speaktothefuture.org
2. The 1000 words campaign has been developed in response to the British Academy research
report Languages, the State of the Nation, which assessed the match of supply and demand
for language skills. This found that the UK was suffering from a growing deficit in language
skills and that, although language skills are needed at all levels in the workforce, not simply
by an internationally-mobile élite, language courses are seldom thought relevant to learners
with lower academic attainment. The survey may be downloaded from
http://www.britac.ac.uk/policy/State_of_the_Nation_2013.cfm.
The key messages of the 1000 words campaign are that UK society and economic prospects
would be vastly transformed for the better if everyone had 1000 words of another language.
Competence in languages is beneficial to all, but you don’t have to be fluent.
The campaign seeks to raise public awareness about the need for greater competence in
languages and the value of all languages and to ground the challenge in what is realistic and
measurable.
The 1000 words target represents a level roughly equivalent to A2 on the Common
European Framework of Reference for languages.
3. The Bett Show is billed as the world’s leading learning technology event and takes place at
Excel London on 22-25 January 2014. Visitors will be able to view and sign up to the 1000
words challenge on the Oxford University Press and Vocab Express stands.